Silicon Being Used in Breast Plastic Surgery

Silicon-filled breast implants (SBI), which had been banned since 1992 due to controversy over their harmfulness, are now back on the market.

The Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) announced yesterday that the SBI, including 143 types from the Allergan company and 116 types from the Mento company, which had been approved by the Food & Drug Administration of the United States, had been allowed for sale in the domestic market for breast plastic surgery purposes.

The KFDA said, “The implants permitted were confirmed as toxin-free for the long-term through clinical testing. But we recommend a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) inspection every two years, three years after getting the surgery, to prevent possible side effects.”

The SBI, which had been largely used for breast plastic surgery, emitted a sticky substance that caused bad side effects, including necrosis and arthritis, when it was damaged.

Saline solution-filled breast implants have been used since 1992, when sales of SBI were prohibited after a class-action lawsuit in the U.S.

The SBI, which has been permitted by the KFDA, is called “cohesive gel,” since it sticks together even if it is damaged. The cohesive gel implant makes up 60 percent of the European market and 90 percent of the Japanese market.

Plastic surgeons evaluated, “The saline solution artificial breasts are unnatural and too soft because they are liquid. But cohesive gel is very close to the real breast, because it is half solid.”

Breast plastic surgery using cohesive gel costs around seven million won, higher than that saline solution-filled breast implants (around five million won).

corekim@donga.com